Original ads, historic design drawings, and factory photographs tell the definitive story of the American tractor's development, mechanical innovations, groundbreaking designs, and company histories. Best-selling author Randy Leffingwell researched and photographed restored classics and one-of-a-kind experimental models from coast-to-coast to deliver the goods on American farm tractor. This is the book that started it all! Previous hardcover edition (0-87938-532-4 pub 1991) has sold a staggering 150,000!

A wonderful overview of a century of legendary tractors. The farm tractor took over where humans and animals had once toiled in the fields. From the first big steam-powered engines to the smaller, more maneuverable tractors, to the most evolved and advanced models of today, experience the full history of this fascinating machine. Features marque-by-marque info of all the major manufacturers, covering more than 150 tractors, and an illustrated, eye-catching combination of specially commissioned color photographs.

"Mr. Dahlstrom...has written a superb history of the tractor and this long-forgotten period of capitalism in U.S. agriculture. We now know the whole story of when farming, business and the free-market economy diverged, divided and conquered." —Wall Street Journal Discover the untold story of the “tractor wars,” the twenty-year period that introduced power farming—the most fundamental change in world agriculture in hundreds of years. Before John Deere, Ford, and International Harvester became icons of American business, they were competitors in a forgotten battle for the farm. From 1908-1928, against the backdrop of a world war and economic depression, these brands were engaged in a race to introduce the tractor and revolutionize farming. By the turn of the twentieth century, four million people had left rural America and moved to cities, leaving the nation’s farms shorthanded for the work of plowing, planting, cultivating, harvesting, and threshing. That’s why the introduction of the tractor is an innovation story as essential as man’s landing on the moon or the advent of the internet—after all, with the tractor, a shrinking farm population could still feed a growing world. But getting the tractor from the boardroom to the drafting table, then from factory and the farm, was a technological and competitive battle that until now, has never been fully told. A researcher, historian, and writer, Neil Dahlstrom has spent decades in the corporate archives at John Deere. In Tractor Wars, Dahlstrom offers an insider’s view of a story that entwines a myriad of brands and characters, stakes and plots: the Reverend Daniel Hartsough, a pastor turned tractor designer; Alexander Legge, the eventual president of International Harvester, a former cowboy who took on Henry Ford; William Butterworth and the oft-at-odds leadership team at John Deere that partnered with the enigmatic Ford but planned for his ultimate failure. With all the bitterness and drama of the race between Ford, Dodge, and General Motors, Tractor Wars is the untold story of industry stalwarts and disruptors, inventors, and administrators racing to invent modern agriculture—a power farming revolution that would usher in a whole new world.

Let the Good Book have the final word: “Young people, enjoy life while you can. Be happy and let your heart bubble over with joy. Follow your heart’s desire, but remember that every deed has its consequences either good or bad, for God will one day judge everything you have done. Don’t do things that will he hurt you, because you’re not young very long. Old age will come soon enough. Remember your Creator while you’re still young and enjoy your youth.” - Ecclesiastes 11:9 to 12:1.

This nostalgic look at the fascinating industry will appeal to tractor and farm machinery enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the activities of the farm implement business. Farm equipment dealers have been supplying the needs of farmers, and through them the nourishment needs of the world, for well over the century. This well-researched reference documents the evolution of these dealerships and their equipment, through the personal accounts of many dealership owners and managers, as well as parts persons, servicemen, salesmen, and customers. Included in American Farm Tractor Dealerships: &break;&break;Vintage photos of showroom floors, building exteriors, service areas, and parts departments &break;&break;Illustrations of floor plans &break;&break;Marketing and promotional items businesses used, such as newspaper ads, giveaways and more

Relates the history of the tractor and shows the changes in design that have resulted in the diesel-powered giants of today.